|
|
Article: Thinking about a "New Economy.(the effects of technology on an economy and society)
- Article from:
- The Public Interest
- Article date:
- March 22, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 The National Affairs, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
THE Industrial Revolution that began about 200 years ago lives in the collective memory as a cavalcade of inventors and machines: James Watt and the steam engine, Eli Whitney and the cotton gin, Cyrus McCormick and the reaper, Charles Goodyear and vulcanized rubber, and many more. But the Industrial Revolution brought a remarkable change in the human condition that went beyond any particular invention. It instilled a belief that the standard of living did not have to be forever stagnant.
Looking back from today's privileged vantage point, after two centuries of economic growth, it may be impossible to feel in our bones what it meant to live in a world without ...